Resident GM |
Now that we've just about made it through the prologue, I want to post some house keeping stuff.
Travel: I want to give this game a sense of time passage, especially with respect to things like travel and distance. As such, I don't want travel to be a case of me posting "you leave" followed by "you arrive." Therefore, when I make a travel status post, I will not post again until there are 3-4 character posts. Don't need to be anything major, discuss plans or previous encounters, make some knowledge checks about current events, tell me what your character is training or practicing, build intra-party relationships etc... I just want to keep a good flow of posts, from everyone, even if they aren't super eventful.
Skills and Rewards: I want to try something and see how it goes. When you advance skills (please do so with a post here for tractability) I want you to relate it to what your character has been doing. This can be a tenuous link, I don't want to go overboard, but just give me some explanation. Buy some books then tell me your studying them during travel. Buy a weapon and train with it. etc... If this doesn't work well, we can scrap it, but I'd like to try it. If you shot 2 arrows during an encounter, that enough to raise your archery. I just want to avoid "my character has been at sea for 3 months, and I'm putting 2d6 in horsemanship".
Character point rewards will be uniform across the party, fate points will be awarded individually.
Feedback: I have a lot of material and I want this game to run for a good long while, as such, please give me feedback if you have it. Mechanic you don't like, something I'm doing that's bothering you, etc... Feel free to post here.
Resident GM |
Topaz, I missed this post (guess everyone else did too).
In general, my concept was that adventurer's would be generally curious and nosy enough to be interested in strange happenings and machinations when they got caught up in them (as well as not having that much better to do).
But by all means, fleshing out backstory during play is certainly encouraged, especially if it will help give you a better sense of the character/how to play them.
Resident GM |
In happier news...
Character Points. Get you some. Specifically, I'm thinking 8. That's a little bit a guess in terms of quantity although I imagine it's not a lot, but I wanna see how much you lot can do with it and that will help me determine that kinds stuff better in the future.
Please note my guidelines for character advancement above, and outline here how you are advancing your character.
Doom_Chupacabra |
Based on my understanding of the rules
Ula! Ulo Character Points usage
3 Character Points for a +1 to Medicine
3 Character Points for a +1 to Persuasion
and save the last two.
Justification
While traveling with his current companionship he has helped out and seen a lot of basic medicine / first aid / battle field triage being done. Being a reasonably smart guy who has spent a life time learning from his surroundings he's picked up a thing or two. Like wise while his tongue is far from silver he has learned to be more careful in picking his words.
Asmund Thorolfson |
And of course the merchants play there games as ever, seeking advantage by destroying each others ships through proxies. But a few weeks ago, the house of Blue and Gold lost a galleon but a day from Brestlor. Laden with silks and pearls, it disappeared from the water without leaving a trace.
In the south, the pirate Vilstra has taken her ship to the Issan sea and terrorizes those waters.
In Lantyll, the silent war between the house of Trewan and the seven ships company is heating up. Every week a ship or a warehouse seems to meet some misfortune, at great cost to both parties. Someone is sure to profit from such a drain on two such great houses.
And but yesterday I heard a rumor of a ship headed for Nerun being burnt by pirates, they say magisterium ships were involved, though it stretches belief that so many vessels would happen upon the same stretch of sea at the same time.
Vilstra was last seen but a day or two outside of Jemtal, but that is half the world away and the news must be a few weeks old, at least. Her ship, the Delirium, is becoming more storied by the season. It is said to be a galleon capable of engaging any warship, and swift enough to outrun even a scouting cutter beside.
Of the ship by Nerun, little enough has been said so far. You say you had a stake in it? That is curious, I had heard nothing of what it supposedly carried. Although I hear that one of the raider's ships escaped and that the magisterium seeks it.
As to who was behind the attack, nothing has reached my ears. But of course, that is only half the equation.
It may seem so, but the magisterium's involvement knows no boundaries and no borders, and the merchants seeking to gain their favor play out their plots the world over.
But if their goal was to protect the ship, they would surely have sailed close enough to guard it effectively. No, it seems quite plain that this was a trap for someone. The likely answer, some merchant fooling a rival into attacking their ship, not knowing it sailed under the magisterium's protection.
Ah, now we come to the interesting question. Who indeed? The days when trading companies kept to a single city or region are largely gone, so in truth, anyone could have interests in those waters. But assuming the presence of magisterium ships means their involvement in whatever happened, that leaves a very different list of suspects. As much as every merchant plots to win their favor, far fewer have enough standing that any magister would deign to take an active role in their plots. But I have some ideas who I would look to first.
The northern seas amalgamated company is generally considered the pre-eminent company of north western waters and as such have considerable dealings. But they are a steady and well established entity, less given to strange plots and gamles.
The house of blue and gold is perhaps the most storied house of Brestlor, which gives them an important position. But they have had a few bad years and rumors of greater troubles abound. They might certainly be involved in any manner of dubious ploys to regain position and profit.
The Konpen shipping company is an interesting one. Konpen is usually considered something of a backwater, the trade steady and boring. That certainly described Konpen shipping under their longtime leader Prowen. But after his bastard daughter Selwen managed to convince the companies director's to install her in her father's place, the have changed course drastically. The take contracts in many new waters now, including Nerun, and are known to invest in many risky propositions. They are new to these waters and have certainly caught the Magisterium's eye.
Lastly, the House of Montain Vemtal is heavily involved in the northern trade and they are infamous for leaning into the dirty side of the business. Any time a ship mysteriously disappears cargo is ruined, it's worth casting an eye in their direction.
-P
The town is in rare frenzy. In addition to the upcoming election, anxiety about the lack of a spoke-wind, gossiping about whos plotting what, etc... there's one story that is on everyone's lip. The wizard Imtajut has escaped the magisterium's custody. The name rings a bell, and you recall the story from several years ago. Imtajut was supposedly a sorcerer you rose to prominence in the far south of Khisia. Unlike the myriad minor hedge-magicians who ply their trivial magicks around the world, Imtajut is said to be a true wizard. While there is far more rumor than fact about his powers, it does seem that he posses (possessed?) truly awe-inspiring abilities, like the legends of old. Several years ago as his legend was growing like wildfire, he was captured by the magisterium under mysterious circumstances for crimes against the order of the world. They held him in secret, presumably some magister or another was hoping to learn his secrets. As the rumors go, some weeks ago he was moved to an unknown location. The news has just arrived two days ago: he never arrived.
Shows how incapable you are of following your own premise, you wine-besotted simpleton! Selwen's favor with the magisterium has never been higher, surely, if she had just lost their priceless wizard, they wouldn't be quite so fond of her would they? No, I tell you, you need a dangerous man carted off in secret, you call house Montain. They got more spies than the sea has fish, this sort of thing is them all day long
...I'm telling you (insert any house or faction here) freed him!...
...Heard blue and gold are near insolvent they lost so much...
...Can anyone figure what Selwen's up to? Throwing this crazy ruby fest or whatever she's calling it on the election but not running a candidate? Felstad will win, and hardly no one's gonna show to the party...
...Heard seven ships agents are looking for warehouses here now as well. Might not be the worst thing if we trade the fall of one house for 5 new ones...
...Yeah, shes doing same thing glue and gold always did, just her party's in red. Hard to miss that message. Yeah, same deal they always did, whole mansion decked out in shades or red. Event the waitstaff, probably have to die the hair on half of em. My cousin knows a guy who specializes in importing rare flowers from the Issan islands. Largest order of blood orchids hes ever had....
...I'm telling you, Imtajut will be at war with the magisterium in no time. Who knows what they did to him...
...Everyone talks about Selwen, but it seems to me Montain was just as ready for our misfortune as she was. You seen how busy their warehouses are?...
Ula! Ulo |
Ula! Ulo |
We gained a little information about the cause of the ship fire early on, seems likly that the wood was specially treated to catch the flame.
Ah, indeed. Such displays have not truly caught on here in the North, but in Yeza such things are quite popular. In truth there's nothing much too it. Simple lamp oil will suffice so long as the wood in question is reasonably dry. The art is in the wild colors, sparks, and smokes used to entertain and excite the onlookers. I can show you a number of powders that will produce truly spectacular effects.
Ula! Ulo |
Some further notes related to or about Selwen
A Navigator (Brailon?) made some remarks indicating she knew more then she was letting on about the wizard.
A ship headed from Yeza to Nerun had the crew transfired off at the last moment and replaced. (Probably the ship we burned.)
A large shipmant of weapons heading north maybe (Ukkad? Ruva?)
General uptick in weapon trade